Updated 7.23.2025
Electric bills are climbing again in Illinois. In addition to higher summer energy usage, the Illinois Commerce Commission has approved hundreds of millions in delivery rate increases—$606 million for ComEd and $309 million for Ameren Illinois. These delivery hikes, combined with rising supply costs (see chart), are pushing monthly bills higher for homeowners across the state.
Rising prices are linked to a mix of grid congestion, delays in bringing new energy projects online, and changes in how reserve electricity (capacity) is priced. Two major grid operators—MISO (serving Ameren Illinois) and PJM (serving ComEd customers)—manage the regional power markets that help ensure reliability during peak demand. Recent shifts in these markets have pushed these prices to record highs. This cost is passed directly to consumers.
These increases hit the supply and transmission portion of your electric bill, which makes up more than half of what you pay each month. Even though utilities like Ameren Illinois don’t profit from these charges, homeowners still carry the burden.
Add in hotter summers and rising AC usage, and the cost of staying cool is only getting more expensive. Energy rates will only continue to rise.
It’s like owning a mini power plant on your roof (or property) that provides clean, local energy to your home or business. Your own solar PV system means securing your energy costs for decades and never having to fear the monthly utility bill. Let’s look at how going solar can help you take control of your energy costs and lock in long-term savings.
In this article, we cover the top 4 ways solar energy for your home or business can protect against rising electricity bills.
A solar PV system generates energy over the typical 25-30 year life of the system. Over this timeframe, the cost of solar energy to your home is fixed, known as Levelized Cost of Energy. The cost of these solar-generated kilowatts are determined by the net cost of the system minus federal and state incentives (net cost), divided by the energy produced.
For instance, if your $11,300 system (after incentives) produces 9,800 kilowatt hours a year, the Levelized Cost of Energy would be 4.1 cents a kilowatt across 30 years. In many cases, the cost of self-generated energy is a fraction of what the utility charges to your home. Here’s the math.
Notice in the incentive calculation below, the 30% Federal Tax Credit helps lower your LCOE. A recent law has eliminated this powerful incentive for homeowners and curtailed it for businesses. To be eligible, homeowners must install before December 31, 2025. Get started today to secure maximum incentives!
A well-functioning solar array can reduce your home’s energy costs. For example, when factoring in the annual cost savings from solar energy, an average array in Illinois can pay for itself in 8 to 12 years. The remaining life of the system is providing free energy to your home. That could be an additional 15 years of free energy!
Net metering is the exchange of energy between your solar PV system and the utility. When excess energy is generated during the day, your utility credits those kilowatts in your account for future use, such as nighttime. If you continue to produce more than you use, the utility will pay you for the extra energy sent to the grid either monthly or at the end of the year. Each utility has different net metering policies, and your StraightUp Solar Project Developer will clearly explain their rules. For more on net metering and how to read your bill see our blog post and videos for Illinois and Missouri net metering.
For homeowners, battery storage is another tool to capture and use your own energy. If you live in an area with time of use charges, you can use the energy stored from your battery during the day for nighttime use and save those net metering credits for another day.
Battery backup protects your home’s essential loads in times of power outages.
StraightUp Solar offers several solar and storage options, from powering a few appliances to whole home backup. Our engineers can create a custom solution for your home through our storage platforms: Tesla Powerwall and Enphase IQ Battery.
Find out more about Battery Storage.
Get started on protecting your home or business from future rate hikes with a free quote. We’ll connect you with a StraightUp Solar project developer to create your custom energy solution.
Don’t wait! To save 30% off your solar project with the Federal Tax Credit, eligible homeowners will need to install by December 31, 2025.
